PG&E seeks funds for pumped-storage hydro project feasibility study

Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced it has filed a request with state regulators for funding to study the feasibility of building a pumped-storage hydro project in the Mokelumne River watershed in Amador County.

The hydropower facility PG&E hopes to study would range in size from 400 MW to 1,200 MW, according to a press release.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, incorporated in California in 1905, is one of the largest combination natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, the company is a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation.

Recently, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. filed a federal application to build a 5-MW wave energy hydro project about three miles off the coast of Humboldt County in Northern California. The utility plans to select three to four wave energy converter device makers for the 5-year project, which PG&E considers a pilot effort to test different types of technologies.